“Love simply is.” -The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho

Mindanao . . . An Opinion

This is the opinion of one person who has spent some time in Mindanao, and has been paying attention for a while. It is not meant to be presented as “truth” or as the only possible valid opinion. There is a great deal that could be said and most perspectives deserve some attention.

First a wee bit history, as brief as I can make it.

The policy of sponsored settlement of immigrants in Mindanao did not, as is sometimes claimed, start with Marcos: it dates back to the American colonial period. It did accelerate dramatically through the 50s and 60s, to a point that by 1970 many formerly Muslim-majority areas were dominated by settlers, raising tension at many levels. Muslim land generally held no government-recognized title, with no legal impediment to giving it away.